Amaretti Tiramisu
Every cook should have a good tiramisu recipe in their repertoire. This one uses amaretti, delicate almond- fl avoured Italian biscuits, instead of the traditional ladyfingers. For my taste, they give a bit more fl avour and add a little something unexpected. You can make this in a large serving dish or dress it up in individual glasses as we have here. However you do it, just be sure that all the lovely layers are on display — it’s half of what makes tiramisu so delightful! — Lesley Stowe
½ cup ( 125 mL) brewed espresso or strong coffee ¼ cup ( 60 mL) Marsala wine or brandy 4 large free- range egg yolks 2 tbsp. ( 30 mL) granulated sugar 2 large free- range egg whites 2 cups ( 500 mL) mascarpone 36 amaretti cookies ¼ cup ( 60 mL) dark cocoa powder 6 glass jars, parfait glasses, or wine glasses, for serving
In a shallow bowl, combine espresso and Marsala and set aside.
In a medium heatproof glass or metal bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Set over a saucepan of simmering water ( make sure water does not touch bottom of bowl) and whisk constantly until mixture lightens in colour and forms ribbons when whisk is lifted, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on medium- high speed, beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Set aside.
Fold mascarpone, ½ cup at a time, into cooled egg yolk mixture, combining well after each addition. Fold mascarpone- yolk mixture into the egg whites and combine well. Set aside.
Assemble: Allow 6 amaretti cookies per serving, arranged in 2 layers, in 6 tall, straight- sided serving glasses. Dip 6 cookies, one at a time, into espresso- Marsala mixture. Place 3 in the bottom of each serving glass. Fill each glass one- half full with mascarpone mixture and sprinkle with cocoa powder. Repeat with a layer of 3 cookies per glass, mascarpone and cocoa powder. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes 6 servings.
Tip: The way you build this dessert is determined by the serving vessel( s) you use. If you use one large bowl, just cover the bottom with half of the dipped cookies, followed by half of the mascarpone, the cocoa, and remaining dipped amaretti, ending with the remaining mascarpone fi lling. If using individual glasses or jars, fi t whatever number of amaretti works in one layer and alternate layers of fillings until you fi ll the glass. Just be sure the layers of mascarpone fi lling are at least 1 inch thick for best results.